‘‘How do you know what I find pleasurable?’’ she shot back, and for a moment there was a glimpse of something in her eyes that might explain why a woman who appeared perfectly normal would suddenly decide she wanted to become a demon lord.

‘‘I don’t,’’ I admitted. ‘‘But Magoth’s form of pleasure usually holds a sting. Sometimes it’s fatal.’’

‘‘I haven’t killed a woman with sex in days,’’ he said with another leer, cocking a hip so his penis, tattooed with a curse put there by an unhappy lover, waved at me.

I shot him a horrified glance. He laughed again. ‘‘May, my adorable one, you’re like putty in my hands. A silky-skinned, blue-eyed vixen sort of putty, but putty nonetheless. I take it my suggestion of a threesome is out?’’

‘‘Way out,’’ I agreed.

‘‘Ah.’’ He glanced down at his penis in mock regret. ‘‘Perhaps the lady prefers a different color scheme? Maybe this would be more to your favor?’’

His form shimmered for a moment, blurring slightly before settling down into that of a tall man with skin the color of my favorite latte, shoulder-length dreadlocks, and a close-cropped goatee and moustache framing lips that were firm, yet so very sensitive. My heart leaped in my chest, thudding madly as I beheld the vision of the man for whom I had sacrificed so much. I fisted my hands, fighting to control the urge to strike Magoth for his cruelty, knowing that he was fishing for just such a reaction from me. It took a moment, but at last I mastered my emotions and leveled him a gaze that by rights should have struck him down.

‘‘You’re not even a fraction the man Gabriel is,’’ I told him.

‘‘Ah, but he’s not a man at all,’’ Magoth answered, looking down at himself. He shuddered delicately and returned to his normal appearance, thankfully complete with clothing. ‘‘I tell myself that one day I will understand your preference for the silver wyvern over me, but I begin to wonder whether it is not just some perverse obstinacy on your part.’’

I took a deep breath, ignoring the need to lash out. My voice was as bland as I could make it as I asked, ‘‘Was there something you wanted, a threesome aside?’’

‘‘How about a threesome astride?’’ he asked hopefully.

I tightened my lips.

‘‘That dragon has ruined you,’’ he said with a sigh, shaking his head. ‘‘You used to be such fun. As it happens, I did have a bit of news about which I wish to inform you—’’

I never heard the rest of the sentence. A faint tingling sensation swept over me for the space between seconds; then suddenly I was yanked out of the room, out of Magoth’s house, clear out of Abaddon, and plopped down in the center of a familiar room.